IRQ Sharing

[CRASH]

Hey all,
     I've got an aopen ax6b mb bought about 2 years ago using the stock bios...never flashed, I can get the date if ya need it.  My problem is that I've installed dsl a few months ago and the ethernet card is sharing irq 11 with the usb controller.  I'm using a usb flight control system so I'm using both resources at the same time when I play ah.  There seems to be a bit of lag when I'm saddled up close to a bandit and some minor suging and I'm not sure if its caused by the irq sharing between my stick and dsl or just regular old net lag.  I also get occasional instantaneous screen freeze or stutter.  I tried to assign the pci slot to another irq in the bios but windows wont accept it. I did some reading and discovered that I can disable irq steering and have the bios setup used primarily but I really only want the one pci slot containing the ethernet card to share the same irq as the modem/com port 1 becuae I'll never use them at the same time but it seems like it's not possible.  It seems like all or none..reset them all in bios or leave it as is.  Things seem to be working fine so I'm hesitant to start resetting everything, and like I said I'm not sure if its just standard net lag and provide any improvement anyway.  Bios is set to plug and play operating system.  All isa's and pci's are set to auto, irq 3 is reserved for com 2.  Any attempts to reset are overriden by os.  Running win 98se.  Could also be the latest patch, not really sure, it always seemed to run fine in the past but I hesitate to blame the software just yet    Any ideas?  

CRASH

[This message has been edited by CRASH (edited 04-16-2001).]

[Lephturn]

First, lets see what everything is set to.  Do this:

Click Start button, choose run, and type in "msinfo32" (without the quotes) and hit enter.  This should start the system information applet.  Now choose the Hardware Resources folder in the left pane, and then the IRQ's folder beneath that.

List the IRQ's and devices here for us.  

Now, the second thing to do is list for me, starting from the "top" what devices you have in what expansion slots on your mainboard.

You may be able to solve your problem by moving your Ethernet card.  Basically, the USB bus likely shares an IRQ with a particular PCI slot on your mainboard.  To solve this problem you are going to need to move the card to a different slot, but you have to make sure it's one that won't cause you any other problems.  

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!

[CRASH]

Sorry, should have mentioned that I tried the card in different slots.  All the pci slots share with something I dont want the dsl to share with.  I wanna get it to share irq 3 or 4, comm irq's, because they're not in use when I'm online playin AH.  What I really wanna do is get windows to accept the pci irq assignment I set in bios for the one pci slot without disableing irq steering and having to go manual on all of them.  I'll post the irq info tonight when I get home. Thanx for the reply.

CRASH

[CRASH]

0   System timer
1   Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2   Programmable interrupt controller
3   Communications Port (COM2)
4   Communications Port (COM1)
5   3dfx Voodoo3
5   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
6   Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7   Printer Port (LPT1)
8   System CMOS/real time clock
9   Creative SB16 Emulation
10   Creative SB Live!
10   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11   NETGEAR FA311 Fast Ethernet PCI Adapter
11   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
11   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12   PS/2 Compatible Mouse Port
13   Numeric data processor
14   Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
15   Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller

pci 1 = Empty for AGP
pci 2 = empty (will share irq with video)
pci 3 = sound board
pci 4 = ethernet card
isa 1 = empty
isa 2 = serial card for pda
isa 3 = empty

[Lephturn]

Ok, a few of things.

First, it is likely your USB bus will share an IRQ with whatever is in PCI 4.  Maybe not... I dunno.  Check your manual.  Check your BIOS, maybe you can set your USB IRQ in there, but I wouldn't count on it.

Second, you may have to set 'em all manually to set the one.  I'm not sure it's going to solve your problem, since sometimes the as I mention USB just uses whatever PCIx slot is set to use.

Third, Do you really need both of those com ports?  If you can disable one of them, it will free an IRQ up for you to use.

Do you have 4 PCI slots plus an AGP slot?  If so, normally AGP only shares with PCI1, and you can normally put something in PCI 2.  What does your mainboard manual say?

There is one other solution.  Get an ISA Ethernet card.    You'll NEED a free IRQ for that, but if you have one, you can just force the card to that IRQ and everything will be great.  ISA Ethernet cards are cheap, and plenty fast for your internet connection.  

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!

[CRASH]

Thanx Leph    I'd like to get the comm ports to share an irq so as to free one up, but the only way seems to disable irq steering and set it manually.  I disabled the connect icon last nite and things seem a little smoother up close so I'm not gonna risk resetting everything...if it aint broke, dont fix it I always say.  I just thought I might improve things a bit if I got the two devices off the same irq but it's not worth porkin' things up    Geez, you'd think they'd start makin' systems with more irq's by now.

CRASH

 

Originally posted by Lephturn:
Ok, a few of things.

First, it is likely your USB bus will share an IRQ with whatever is in PCI 4.  Maybe not... I dunno.  Check your manual.  Check your BIOS, maybe you can set your USB IRQ in there, but I wouldn't count on it.

Second, you may have to set 'em all manually to set the one.  I'm not sure it's going to solve your problem, since sometimes the as I mention USB just uses whatever PCIx slot is set to use.

Third, Do you really need both of those com ports?  If you can disable one of them, it will free an IRQ up for you to use.

Do you have 4 PCI slots plus an AGP slot?  If so, normally AGP only shares with PCI1, and you can normally put something in PCI 2.  What does your mainboard manual say?

There is one other solution.  Get an ISA Ethernet card.    You'll NEED a free IRQ for that, but if you have one, you can just force the card to that IRQ and everything will be great.  ISA Ethernet cards are cheap, and plenty fast for your internet connection.  

[214thCavalier]

SB16 emulation is only needed for games etc that run in DOS, i figure its unlikely you run any games in DOS anymore so disable or remove SB16 emulation will give you an IRQ back.

[CRASH]

Thanx, I was wonderin about that.  Problem is that if I remove it, windows will re-install when I restart.  Just disabling it wont release the irq, just keep windows from loading the driver, but if anyone knows how to do it, I'm all ears  

CRASH

 

Originally posted by 214thCavalier:
SB16 emulation is only needed for games etc that run in DOS, i figure its unlikely you run any games in DOS anymore so disable or remove SB16 emulation will give you an IRQ back.

[Gypsy Baron]

 

Originally posted by CRASH:
Thanx, I was wonderin about that.  Problem is that if I remove it, windows will re-install when I restart.  Just disabling it wont release the irq, just keep windows from loading the driver, but if anyone knows how to do it, I'm all ears  

CRASH

 

Your "stuttering" problem sounds similar to the one
that I am experiencing...happens both online and offline.
It gets progressively worse and is exacerbated by
tracers, flack bursts and seems to be accellerated
by my going to a gunner position in a Buff,
or on a TG ship.

So far I've tried disabling the task bar, closing everything except AH,
running in 32-bit mode and a bunch of other stuff.
So far nothing seems to eliminate the problem.
I've got a BE6-II M/B with a PIII-600 and
128 MB ram.
TNT2 32 MB AGP
SB Live
2 NIC's...one for the DSL ( Kingston )
and one for my local net to my other two
machines which are almost always turned off.
I have an ISA USR modem in my only ISA slot.
I'm using a USB mouse and from reading other's reports
on "sruttering" I'm beginning to suspect some sort
of USB related problem.

Once this stuttering problem begins, it persists, even after
I exit AH. If I have a RealAudio station
playing and I open an application, the audio will actually
stutter during this operation so whatever it
is that occurs during AH, it is affecting something in the software environment that remains until I reboot.
Here's my IRQ list:
==============================================
0   System timer
1   Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2   Programmable interrupt controller
3   Creative SB Live! Value
3   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
3   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
4   (free)
5   U.S. Robotics 56K FAX INT PnP
6   Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7   Printer Port (LPT1)
8   System CMOS/real time clock
9   (free)
10   3Com EtherLink XL COMBO 10Mb Ethernet NIC (3C900-COMBO)
10   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11   Kingston EtheRx PCI 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter (KNE110TX)
11   Highpoint Technology Inc. HPT366 Ultra DMA 66 Controller
11   Highpoint Technology Inc. HPT366 Ultra DMA 66 Controller
11   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12   Diamond Viper V770 / V770 Ultra for Windows 95
12   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
13   Numeric data processor
14   Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
15   Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
=======================================================



------------------
    =GB=
 Eat at Joe's!
KAW...KAW...KAW!

[RoadfRash]

Go to Start>Run then type msconfig, then uncheck config.sys and autoexe.bat and that will disable SB16 and windows wont try to reload it, these two files are no longer need by modern systems or games, if your sys takes a dump you can always go back to config and re-inable them!

[batdog]

Okies... I had the same problem, or very close. I had cable modem installed and a 10/100 ethernet card. ANyway... with the card in my sound would go stuttering to no sound. I checked all my IRQ's and moved the card several times. I took the cards out, reinstalled software...blablabla. Damn thing would never work.

 The solution was my seeing ONE slot I hadnt tried... so I said what the heck and I shoved it in there. I'll be damn if it didnt work! There must of been some sort of hidden conflict? Oh ad on the IRQ...what is a IRQ steering? Anyway I found this to be wierd as win's said there was no conflict...

 Comments welcome
    Batdog

 

[214thCavalier]

Ok sorry forgot about this thread but if anybody wants/needs to REMOVE SB16 emulation this is how its done.

Copied and pasted from http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kt7/kt7faq.htm

This will work for any motherboard not just Abits.

Disabling or removing SB16 Emulation

Although it is easy to disable the SB16 emulation in the Device Manager, it can be harder to remove it completely, as Windows seems to insist on reinstalling it next time you reboot.  The following procedure will allow you to remove SB16 emulation from your Device Manager once and for all.

Under the System tab in Control Panel, choose Hardware Profiles.  There, choose copy, and name the profile "temp"
Disable SB16 Emulation in the Device Manager.  Reboot your machine and select the new hardware profile "temp" when prompted.  It is an exact copy of the original so everything will run fine.  Disable SB16 Emulation here also.  Then uncheck the box that says "Exists in all hardware profiles".
Reboot and choose original configuration for hardware profiles and make sure the settings of "disabled" are the same.
Reboot and choose your new hardware profile "temp" and here Delete SB Live emulation.  A box will appear asking "remove from which hardware profile" and you should choose "original configuration".
Reboot and choose "original configuration" and verify SB16 Emulation is gone.  If so, go to the hardware profile Tab and delete your second hardware profile.
Now SB16 emulation does not appear anywhere in your tree.  It is not using any resources, has no conflicts, and cannot be seen.
One user reported a less subtle approach - simply rename the file devldr16.exe (do a search for it!) and then SB16 cannot be loaded.

 

[This message has been edited by 214thCavalier (edited 04-23-2001).]

[Lephturn]

Wow Gypsy, you have mucho potential problems there.

Do you use any USB devices?  USB is sharing with your sound card.  This is bad, the SB Live's don't share well... at all.

Kingston NIC sharing with your UDMA HDD controller.  This is not good, and will very likely cause problems.

Luckily, you actually have two free IRQ's you can use.  The hard part is going to be getting them moved around.

Do you have the manual for the BE6-II?  If so, post what slots share with what devices.  Tell us what slots you have all of your cards in.  Are you using your printer port and your USB?  Disabling USB particularly would solve one of your problems.  Also, what hard drives do you have, and what are they plugged in to?  You may be able to disable some of the controllers, since it is doubtfull you are using both the primary and secondary channels of both the onboard IDE and the UDMA-66 controllers.

I'm pretty sure this sharing is what is causing you the problems.

------------------
Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!

[Gypsy Baron]

 

Originally posted by Lephturn:
Wow Gypsy, you have mucho potential problems there.

Do you use any USB devices?  USB is sharing with your sound card.  This is bad, the SB Live's don't share well... at all.

Kingston NIC sharing with your UDMA HDD controller.  This is not good, and will very likely cause problems.

Luckily, you actually have two free IRQ's you can use.  The hard part is going to be getting them moved around.

Do you have the manual for the BE6-II?  If so, post what slots share with what devices.  Tell us what slots you have all of your cards in.  Are you using your printer port and your USB?  Disabling USB particularly would solve one of your problems.  Also, what hard drives do you have, and what are they plugged in to?  You may be able to disable some of the controllers, since it is doubtfull you are using both the primary and secondary channels of both the onboard IDE and the UDMA-66 controllers.

I'm pretty sure this sharing is what is causing you the problems.

I have suspected the IRQ sharing as a source of the problem and also believe it's
going to be a squeak to reassign the IRQ's manually.

I am using the USB port for my mouse. As far as the rest, I'll have to compose a message offline with the details of my configuration and then
post it here. I've got the manual for the M/B and have been
perusing it lately, looking for clues.


------------------
    =GB=
 Eat at Joe's!
KAW...KAW...KAW!

[Gypsy Baron]

OK...here's as much System info as I can gather at the moment:
==============================================
     BE6-II Motherboard - PIII-600 - Win98SE - DX8.0a
     
 AGP Slot -  TNT2 32MB
 
 PCI-1    - (open)                  Shares IRQ with AGP
 
 PCI-2    - 3COM NIC for local net  Shares IRQ with PCI-5
 
 PCI-3    - Kingston NIC for DSL    Shares IRQ with IDE Controller
 
 PCI-4    - SB Live
 
 PCI-5    - (open)                  Shares IRQ with PCI-2
 
 ISA      - USR modem
 

 Hard Drive: WD181AA connected to IDE-3 conncection UDMA Mode 4
             Uses the HPT366 Ultra ATA/66 controller which shares
             IRQ's with PCI-3 slot
             
 The HPT366 controller shares the Bus Mastering controls with
 PCI-5, so NO card that uses Bus Mastering may be installed
 in PCI-5.
             
 CDROM & CD-RW ATAPI devices connected to IDE-1 Primary
 
 IDE-2 disabled in BIOS
 
 No printer attached, as I use a printer attached to my
 backup system #2 ( of 3 ) on my local network.
 I rarely have machines #2 & #3 on so the local network
 is not active when I'm online in AH.
 
 Since I first posted my IRQ list to this topic I went into
 the BIOS and made some changes. Here's the "latest" list:
 =============================================
0   System timer
1   Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2   Programmable interrupt controller
3   (free)
4   (free)
5   U.S. Robotics 56K FAX INT PnP
6   Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7   (free)
8   System CMOS/real time clock
9   (free)
10   Diamond Viper V770 / V770 Ultra for Windows 95
10   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11   3Com EtherLink XL COMBO 10Mb Ethernet NIC (3C900-COMBO)
11   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12   Creative SB Live! Value
12   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
12   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
13   Numeric data processor
14   Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14   Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
15   Kingston EtheRx PCI 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter (KNE110TX)
15   Highpoint Technology Inc. HPT366 Ultra DMA 66 Controller
15   Highpoint Technology Inc. HPT366 Ultra DMA 66 Controller
15   IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
=============================================

Unfortunately something is going to have to share IRQ's
I believe. Early on when I added the DSL NIC I tried
the SB card in PCI-5. It didn't like THAT at all.
Perhaps the two NIC's will share with one another in
PCI-2 and PCI-5.
I don't know why the USB hub insists on following the SB
IRQ assignment...notice how they both moved up to IRQ12
when I managed to free up IRQ 3,4,7 & 9 by disabling IDE 2
and LPT1 in the BIOS.

Here is a mapping of the PIRQ signals routed to the chipset:

 Signal        PCI-1/AGP   PCI-2  PCI-3  PCI-4  PCI-5   HPT366
 PIRQ_0         INT A      INT B  INT C  INT D  INT B   INT C  
 PIRQ_1         INT B      INT D  INT D  INT A  INT A   INT D
 PIRQ_2         INT C      INT C  INT A  INT B  INT D   INT A
 PIRQ_3         INT D      INT A  INT B  INT C  INT C   INT B
 
The M/B manual states that the USB used the PIRQ_3 signal.

Even though I'm a hardware/firmware engineer, I'm not quite certain
how to interpret the above information in terms of actual IRQ
numbers. I'm assuming that "A" - "D" can be assigned to any of
the available IRQ's ( 3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,14,15 ) but in the above
table all "A"'s will be equal, etc , thus only 4 IRQ's are possible.

Any insight will be appreciated.



------------------
    =GB=
 Eat at Joe's!
KAW...KAW...KAW!